Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://dipositint.ub.edu/dspace/handle/2445/69726
Title: | What Color is My Arm? Changes in Skin Color of an Embodied Virtual Arm Modulates Pain Threshold |
Author: | Martini, Matteo Perez-Marcos, Daniel Sánchez-Vives, María Victoria |
Keywords: | Realitat virtual Dolor Virtual reality Pain |
Issue Date: | 1-Jan-2013 |
Publisher: | Frontiers Media |
Abstract: | It has been demonstrated that visual inputs can modulate pain. However, the influence of skin color on pain perception is unknown. Red skin is associated to inflamed, hot and more sensitive skin, while blue is associated to cyanotic, cold skin. We aimed to test whether the color of the skin would alter the heat pain threshold. To this end, we used an immersive virtual environment where we induced embodiment of a virtual arm that was co-located with the real one and seen from a first-person perspective. Virtual reality allowed us to dynamically modify the color of the skin of the virtual arm. In order to test pain threshold, increasing ramps of heat stimulation applied on the participants' arm were delivered concomitantly with the gradual intensification of different colors on the embodied avatar's arm. We found that a reddened arm significantly decreased the pain threshold compared with normal and bluish skin. This effect was specific when red was seen on the arm, while seeing red in a spot outside the arm did not decrease pain threshold. These results demonstrate an influence of skin color on pain perception. This top-down modulation of pain through visual input suggests a potential use of embodied virtual bodies for pain therapy. |
Note: | Reproducció del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00438 |
It is part of: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2013, vol. 7, num. 438 |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2445/69726 |
Related resource: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00438 |
ISSN: | 1662-5161 |
Appears in Collections: | Articles publicats en revistes (Cognició, Desenvolupament i Psicologia de l'Educació) Publicacions de projectes de recerca finançats per la UE |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
631342.pdf | 706.17 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
This item is licensed under a
Creative Commons License